Third Degree Burns
by Lady Kat
Summary: Horror! Angst! Fun stuff like that! ::coughs:: I am in no way anti-Celena, it's just that, we lost Dilandau 'cuz of her..... Discontinued.
1. Default Chapter

Third-

Third-Degree Burns

Author's notes: So this is my little Dilandau/Celena fic. I'm finally getting around to writing one. Go me! Originally, Celena was going to split into two halves, much like Two-Face from Batman; but then I realized how weird that would be considering the gender factor. One half male, the other female......not going there. So, changes happened and here's what came out. Enjoy! Oh yeah, and this takes place 4 years after the anime ends. And also, I haven't seen Celena in the anime yet, so I only know what I've read about her on the net.

Disclaimer: I in no way own or can make any claims on Tenkuu no Escaflowne.

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The fire burned.

Laughter all around her.

Evil sadistic laughter.

Her laughter.

And the fire burned.....

Celena woke with a start, sitting up straight in bed. She placed a shaky hand to her face, which was covered with beads of sweat. Her hair was matted to her forehead; she ran a hand through it. She kicked off her blanket and placed her feet on the cold floor. Walking across the room, Celena opened her window. She leaned on the sill, letting the cool breeze blow her hair. She fell back onto the bed, rubbing against the pillow in an attempt to wipe away the sweat. It was as if she had really been near the flames.

That dream....it never went away.....she saw faces.....so many people......screaming.......

~~~~~~~~~~~

Dilandau laughed. Well, he couldn't laugh, he wasn't human anymore. He was a thought, a memory, a submerged personality; a signal flying from synapse to synapse in Celena's brain. But he could still feel for some reason, and the feeling he had was that of pure sadistic pleasure. If he couldn't control this body, then the one who did was going to get hell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I had that dream again," Celena said, trying to maintain her composure. 

"Again?" She nodded. Allen flinched. That wasn't something he wanted to hear. If Dilandau's memories were resurfacing in Celena, there was always the chance that she might revert--no. That wouldn't happen. It couldn't. Dilandau was gone.

"This time it was worse; I woke up all sweaty, like I had been near the fire." Allen swallowed hard.

"Are you alright?" Celena nodded.

"Hai. I'm fine." Allen noticed his sister visibly shiver. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She could see Van. She was sneaking up on him through a cloud of smoke. She was going to attack him. But then....he sliced her face.

"My face...you scarred it...how dare you...."

Celena's eyes snapped open. The dream had changed. She felt a stinging on her cheek. She sat up and in the dim light saw a stain on her pillow. Eyes widened, she placed her fingertips on the sting. Looking at her fingers, she saw what she had feared. Blood. 

"Oh God..." She ran out of her room and to the nearest bathroom. She turned on the light and stared at what she saw in the mirror. A long cut ran down her cheek, blood sliding down her jaw and onto her neck. "Na...nani? But how? It was a dream....just a dream...." But the blood...the cut...were real. Celena's scream echoed through the Schezar mansion.

And Dilandau laughed......

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*And that's part one! I'm in a morbid Celena and Allen-bashing mood, so beware if things get violent. Plus, it's Spring Break and I've got nothing to do. A very bad combo. Well, I'm gonna take a shower and eat a Flintstones' Push-Up sherbet pop thing now. Ja ne! And please review! I really want to know what you think about it. Yes, *you*! Luv ya! ^_~*


	2. The Burning

Third

Part 2: The Burning

Author's notes: Part two. Yup. ::crickets:: I am really bored. *THWACK* Ow......hey Gia, whaddya do that for? Oh yeah, I'm supposed to tell you that there's Celena-torture this chapter. More so than the last. Flame me if you don't like it. My addie is [][1]LadyKat@kiryuu-girl.zzn.com. Although leaving a review is preferrable. Either way, I'll find a way to publicly mock your idiocy for the whole world to see. Happy flaming! ::evil grin::

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"Celena....." She cupped her face in her hands as the blood slowly began to soak into her nightgown. That voice...it....it was her voice but yet, it wasn't.....where was it coming from? "Celena....." Her breath grew heavier, quicker, more ragged. 

"Who are you?"she called out, backing up against the wall.

"I am you...Celena..."

"No!!! Where are you?!? Where?" She slid down the wall, shaking her head.

"Inside you...."

"No...no....NO!! Go away!! Leave me alone!!"

"No Celena. I want to live; I will live again.....," the voice slowly died out. She wrapped her arms around her knees, gasping for air. 

"Celena?"

"GO AWAY!" Allen poked his head into the bathroom.

"Celena? What's the matter with you?" She looked up at her brother as horrified tears formed in her eyes.

"Allen..." She jumped into his arms, crying. "The voice......I keep hearing it...."

"What voice?"

"You....you didn't hear it?"

"Hear....*what*?!?" Allen took Celena's chin and turned her head. The fresh cut came into full view. "Wha...what happened?"

"I woke up...and it was there. It....it was just...there...." Allen swallowed, realizing what *he* was doing to his little sister.

"Well, we'd better get that patched up before it gets infected. Okay?"he asked. Celena nodded and the two of them left the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Van-sama," Merle jumped up onto Van's desk, worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?" Van leaned back in his chair and turned his head to Merle. He placed his hand on a folded piece of white paper edged in gold. He slowly opened it and laid it back down on the desk. Merle craned her head around to read it.

"It's from Allen." Merle looked up at Van. 

"Allen-san?"

"Yes. It's Celena. *His* scar appeared on her face." Merle's mouth parted slightly. "And she's been having dreams.....*his* memories."

"Van-sama...." Merle jumped into Van's lap and licked his face. "No one's going to hurt you, right?" He smiled.

"No, of course not." She smiled and placed her head on his shoulder. 'At least, I hope so,' he thought as he ruffled her hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We're sorry, Dilandau-sama!"

*slap, slap*

"I don't need incompetents...."

Celena sat up straight. It was hot. She was surrounded by flames. Burning hot flames all around her. She tried to scream, but the thick smoke silenced her. It flew down her throat, choking her. The white-hot flames danced brightly in the dark room, licking at her skin. She tried to escape, but the flames grew. They blocked out any means of exit, and soon, all she could see were the flames. She could feel the fire searing into her skin as it crawled up her body. Looking at her hands, they were burned beyond recognition, bubbling brownish-purple skin offset by the bluish-red blood that seeped from the wounds. She tried to scream once more, only to be again suffocated by the smoke and the fire that leaped into her mouth and into her throat, burning her from the inside out. Without a voice to scream for help, without clean air to draw into her now scorched, blackened lungs, her eyes rolled back into her head, the pain numbing, and then blackness.....nothing.......

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Celena's scream echoed down the hallways eerily, like a tormented soul calling out for peace, for closure. Nothing. She panted heavily as she looked frantically about the room for flames and smoke; she was sure that they would leap out towards her at any minute.....but they didn't. Another dream.

'But in dreams....you can't feel,' a voice inside her said. 'You felt it. The heat. The burning. It was real, all of it.' 

"It was real, Celena....."

"Not you! No!" She fell off the bed, curling into a fetal position against the wall.

"Yes! You can't escape me. Succumb...you will succumb....or you will burn...."

"NO! Go away, you bastard!" She felt a surge of amusement inside her. She was angry, terrified; but something inside her was laughing.

"Celena, you shouldn't speak about yourself like that. Here Celena, take something to remember me by." As the voice faded away, she felt a deep burning inside her eyes as everything went black.

"The flames; the FLAMES!!!!!!!"[1] she screamed, flailing wildly. Allen burst into his sister's room catching her and holding her still until she finally went limp. He laid her down on the ground gently, then stumbled back at what he saw. His sister's mouth was hanging wide open, her body sprawled out. But that wasn't what made him stumble. 

Her shocked, pained, anguished eyes were of a deep garnet.

*******************

[1] Am I the only one having a Fantasy Island flashback or what?

*Torture, torture everywhere, but not any for Akio-san. (Gomen for the Utena reference, I couldn't resist.) But that's always the way it is, isn't it? So how was it? Violent enough for you? No? Don't worry, there's lots more coming. This is actually the first fic I've done with serious violence and it's about time! Took me long enough, stuck on that damn humor kick. I still am of course, just less so. Well, now it's interactive time, kiddies. Isn't Interactive time fun? Sure it is. All you have to do is write in that box. And you'll feel all warm and fuzzy inside!! No, really! Review! Interact! That box wasn't put there just to look nice!!!*

   [1]: mailto:LadyKat@kiryuu-girl.zzn.com



	3. Dilandau's Recession

Part 3:

Part 3: Dilandau's Recession

Author's notes: Hey everybody, thanks for your reviews and support so far! Gomen that this took so long to get up; I was kinda stumped on how to get this chapter going. But to a little help from my friend Jeanette(hey Netty!), I got an idea. (And no, Jeanette, it has nothing to do with the fact that cartoons don't age.) Celena's eyes are blue, aren't they? I hope so.

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Celena slumped against the tree trunk. Her headache was getting worse. 'Oh fantastic,' she thought, 'just what I need. A migraine.' Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes, hoping that it would help the pain subside a little. It did nothing; her headache only got worse. It burned through her body; making every bit of her sore, especially when she touched anything. She wished she had wings like a Draconian so she could fly up high and not feel so sore. To fly away from the pain, it was almost too much to ask.

It was too much to ask. The burning sensation grew to an extreme.

"Do you feel it, Celena?" She opened her eyes. That voice again. "Do you feel the fire?" it asked. The burning within her grew stronger and more and more painful. She was losing control; it was a struggle to keep breathing. She couldn't take the pain anymore; her eyes rolled back into her head and........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allen sat in his study, talking with his most trusted crewman, Gadeth. "I'm worried about her, Gadeth. What if Dilandau resurfaces? She could be executed as a war criminal. I might lose her...again."

"I don't think yoiu need to worry about execution right now, boss."

"What do you mean?" Gadeth pointed out the window. Allen walked over and looked out. It was just Celena, sitting under a tree, and......"Oh God." Allen dashed out of the room with Gadeth following close behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time they reached the tree, Celena had stopped convulsing, and was now laying flat, if not haphazardly, on the ground. She stirred slowly, and Allen cradled her in his arms. Her eyes slowly opened, and one of them was garnet, the other blue. Allen breathed a sigh of relief, his sister was regaining control. Slowly, but she was undoubtedly becoming dominant again.

"Allen....?"

"Sssshhhh, Celena. Everything's going to be fine." 'Finally,' he added silently, to himself.

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*I know it's short, but that's chapter 3. The next one will be longer. I hope. Anywayz, it's interactive time again! Interact! Encourage others to interact too! My birthday's coming up in May! Every author loves feedback! *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* Don't ignore me!*


	4. The Meeting

Part 4:

Part 4: The Meeting

Author's notes: ::sighs:: Another violent chapter. Goody. I just realized that I'm ripping off a lot of stuff from the movie Anastasia. You know, the cartoon. I even ripped off a line at the end of this chapter. Well, it fits nicely. Anastasia's trying to piece together a lost past, so is Celena........I really gotta stop watching that movie when I'm writing this.

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Celena laid back in her bed. Another sleepless night. If she fell asleep, she'd have those terrible "real" dreams again. Things were spiraling down fast; life was like a nightmare. Her dreams, pain, and that voice constsantly haunted her; each hellish day grew worse than the last. And telling Allen that she could only see out of her right eye would only worry him more. And he was stifling enough as it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He could finally see. That was the first thing he needed to regain. Sight. Now, in order to gain more control, he had to weaken Celena. He wished it was like the old days, where he could just climb in his guymelef and burn down any obstacles in his way. 

But he had learned in these four years, that in his situation, that just wouldn't cut it. He had barely enough power to stay alive inside Celena's mind. He had struggled at first, but it was hard to maintain control when you had nothing in the world to hang to. With his Dragonslayers, his only friends dead, Celena had more to live for than he. And in his unstable condition, for her stable(if not traumatized) psyche to take over was simple. The strong would always conquer the weak. Now he was strong. But so was she, and control was in her hands. So she had to become weak. And he knew just the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fatigue was getting the best of Celena, and her heavy eyelids dropped shut.

"Do you remember me, Celena?" A tall boy stood there in the blackness, smirking evilly. He had silvery gray hair and garnet eyes. And Celena gasped when she saw the same scar on his face that had appeared on hers. She suddenly found herself standing along with him in the dark void. She didn't know how, but she could tell the scar was gone from her face.

"That scar...."

"Recongnize it? You should,"he said. He slowly started to stride over to her. She backed up slightly, afraid to get near this menacing person.

"Stay away from me!"she yelled, holding up her hands as if to protect herself. The boy let loose a chilling laugh, sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm not going to hurt you, little girl," he said, biting sarcasm in his voice. He kept approaching her slowly, looking her up and down, like a animal stalking his frightened prey. She curled her fingers into a fist and let loose a punch aimed at his face. He caught her fist in midair, spinning her around and pinning her arm behind her back. She cried out in pain as he twisted her arm, it threatened to break. He wrapped his free arm around her tightly, holding her still. "Don't be stupid," he muttered. 

"You're the one who's been doing this to me! Why?!"she demanded. He twisted her arm further. She wriggled to get away as she heard a small crack.

"Why? Why?!? You want to know why?!?" He threw her to the ground, which she hit with a sickening thud. Celena cradled her fractured wrist as the old fire returned to the boy's eyes. "Because you bloody *killed* me, that's WHY!!!" 

"Killed you? I don't even know you!"

"You don't, do you? Think you can forget me that easily? I'm Dilandau! DILANDAU! Do you remember that?!?" 

"That name...." 

"I want you to feel pain Celena. Feel what I felt. Feel it!" She felt a pulsing, sharp pain on her face, and then the cut practically exploded out of her skin, blood and bit of now dead skin floating in the void around them. Without thinking, she placed her hand over the cut, then retracted it quickly as she felt the stinging pain from her wrist run up her arm. Dilandau smiled and faded away.

Celena sat straight up, panting heavily. She raised her arm and moved her wrist around. It felt a little numb, but outside of that, it was okay. "Thank God,"she muttered. But that boy.....who was he? She knew him...and yet, she had never met him before. And his name, it rang in her ears, first in his voice, then others. Voices that she was so familar with, but couldn't place on anyone. "It's like a memory from a dream..."

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*Chapter 4. Yup. Hope you liked it. Short as usual. I found that it's easier for me to stay focused on one story(and to stay interested) if the chapters are shorter. Hey, I've got a short attention span. Anyhoo, it interactive time again. Interact. Review. Go at it. Whoo. (I'm tired, as if you can't tell.)*


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